Tuesday eating from your yard tip~In 2012 rose was the herb of the year. So our local herb society had a speaker come in from the rose society to talk about roses. It quickly became apparent that while rose society people strive to grow the perfect rose, herb society people were more interested in how you eat a rose. This baffled the speaker and piqued my interest in eating roses. Little did I know that for thousands of years roses have been used both medicinally and in culinary creations. The rose petals and rose hips are both edible. In the Fall we can talk about rose hips, but today let’s focus on the rose petals. A couple things to keep in mind~dark colored fragrant roses are the most flavorful. The little white part at the base of the petal is bitter and should be removed before cooking. Kay Young showed me the trick to cut off the petals with a scissor so you leave the bitter white tip on the plant to form into a rose hip. Like all herbs it is best to harvest the petals once the dew has dried, but before the heat of the day making 10 am ideal. Many products/poisons used to create perfect rose bushes are not fit for human consumption so be very careful to know what has been applied to the rose bush from which you are harvesting. I have two fragrant David Austin roses that I don’t use any chemicals on. They are light colored, but you go with what you have. While your average American may not routinely cook with roses, in the Middle East, Mediterranean and East Indian cooking with roses is common. Rose water can be made at home or bought for a couple dollars at your local middle eastern market and is used in everything from desserts to rice dishes. My personal favorite is rose baklava made with cashews, white chocolate chips, cardamom, rose water and lots of sugar. I made a rose petal butter frosting with 3 Tablespoons of finely chopped rose petals, 1/2 cup softened butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, and two Tablespoons of rose water~ lovely lovely. Sheila M. Krueger sent me a recipe for a cucumber yogurt salad with dill, cherries and rose petals. I have not tried this, but I saw a rose infused vinegar. A rose infused alcohol would also be very nice. For either the infused alcohol or vinegar just take rose petals and cover them with vinegar or alcohol and leave covered for four weeks in a dark place. Then strain and enjoy! Rose sugar is easy to make by layering rose petals and sugar and letting it sit for several weeks. One of the most lovely treats in the world is Kay Young’s wild rose jelly made with rhubarb juice and rose petals. Rose syrup is also popular added to drinks, desserts and a glaze for pork or sweet potatoes. My go to stress relieving drink is the Organic India’s Sweet Rose Tulsi~pure heaven. How do you eat roses?
